Gold climbs back above $1,350

Gold climbs back above $1,350 LONDON: Gold edged back above $1,350 an ounce on Thursday as the dollar gave up earlier gains against a currency basket, with uncertainty over the outlook for US monetary policy continuing to underpin the metal.

Palladium slid, however, after surging more than 4 per cent in the previous session in a rally triggered by a wave of short-covering after recent hefty gains. The metal is testing support at the $700 an ounce level.

Spot gold was up 0.3pc at $1,350.80 an ounce at 1420 GMT, after rising around 0.8pc over the last two days. US gold futures for December delivery were up $4.60 at $1,356.50 an ounce.

Prices have risen 27pc so far this year, largely on expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on further interest rate hikes. Rising rates lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

“The most important factor for the gold market is what’s going on in the United States with the economy, and what the Fed will do out of this data,” LBBW analyst Thorsten Proettel said. “Anything that is good for the economy in the United States will lead to higher interest rates at some time in the future, and that’s bad for gold — and the other way around.”

Silver was up 0.6pc at $20.185 an ounce, while platinum was 1pc lower at $1,159.85 an ounce.